News Alert

An Oklahoma Watch review of court records since 2016 found that dozens of hospitals across the state have filed at least 22,250 lawsuits against their former patients over unpaid medical bills. In many of those cases, the hospitals have garnished wages to collect anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than $10,000.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt will be the featured guest at a free public forum Sept. 17 on the city’s ambitious MAPS 4 proposal that would generate close to $1 billion in public funding – much of it targeting human-services and neighborhood issues. Come with your questions.

The share of Oklahoma kindergartners up to date on all their vaccines rose slightly last year, but the percentage who were granted exemptions from at least one vaccine increased, according to the latest survey’s preliminary results. Exemption rates keep rising, which has worried health officials.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt will be the featured guest at
a public forum Sept. 17 on the city’s ambitious MAPS 4 proposal that would
generate close to $1 billion in public funding – much of it aimed at addressing
human-services and neighborhood issues. The forum, which is free, will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, at the Oklahoma History Center. Those interested in attending are encouraged to register online.

Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman awarded the state of Oklahoma $572 million to address the effects of the opioid epidemic. But questions remain over how, when and whether Oklahoma will get a chance to spend the money.

In Case You Missed It

A fourth of high schools across the state have eliminated world language classes over a decade, erasing the chances for thousands of students to acquire skills that could better prepare them for college and the job market.

Between 2012 and 2015, nine inmates in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary took their own lives, giving Oklahoma’s only state-owned maximum security prison the highest suicide rate among corrections facilities. Is solitary confinement to blame?